PartTime Job
by shake-it-buddy
Summary: Haruko has found work at a clothes store, however, her employers treat her like dirt, can she handle it? And how?


Part-Time Job  
  
Fanfic by: shake_it_buddy aka Otakugirl  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Slam Dunk or it's characters... in fact, I can't even do a slam dunk so I have to settle for reading it.  
  
Pairing: Sendoh + Koshino  
  
Warnings: A peck… Don't look at me like that, I swear, that's it! ^.^;  
  
C&C: Yes please! ^_^  
  
Author's Notes: I wrote this with my current part-time job-hunting as inspiration. It's not as funny as my other fics, but I hope that I can change that in later chapters… that is, if I write any other chapters. ^.^;  
  
Part 1: Haruko's part-time job  
  
Haruko could be seen standing by the cashier at a clothes store. She had been very fortunate to get a job during the summer, usually there was nothing to find since there weren't enough jobs for all teenagers in Kanagawa. Haruko checked herself in the mirror by the wall. This was her first job and she didn't want to mess up because of some petty thing like her necktie being out of place. She remembered the interview she'd had with the owner of the store.  
  
~*Flashback*~  
  
The man who sat across the desk from Haruko had a big body frame and was sweating profusely. He was wiped his face and neck with a purple and green-spotted handkerchief. When he had put down the hideous piece of cloth and fiddled a bit with an electrical fan, he fixed Haruko with a stern look. Haruko swallowed nervously as she sat in the uncomfortable chair, the cicadas were singing loudly outside jarring the silence with their loud calls for a mate. The man shifted as he made some various noises deep down in his throat.  
  
"All right, you seem like an ok kid so I'll give you the job. HOWEVER!"  
  
Haruko jumped at the harsh tone of the man.  
  
"If you fail to show up, dissatisfy any of our customers you're FIRED! Believe me, there are hundreds of kids out there looking for a job like this. You get to work at a place that has AC, you get a good pay and you even get your own uniform!"  
  
Haruko wondered fleetingly what was so special about a uniform; she had been required to wear one to school every day since kindergarten. She smiled politely.  
  
"Yes sir, I understand."  
  
"We'll see about that…" the man muttered to himself, if Haruko was supposed to hear it or not she didn't know, but she chose to ignore it.  
  
"Would that be all, sir?" she asked instead.  
  
"Yeah… no! One more thing! I don't want you to bring any of your friends to the store, they'll just distract you and scare away our REAL customers, the grownups." He put emphasise on the word "grownups" as if Haruko was five years old. She managed to keep her smile. "Do you understand what I'm telling you, miss Akagi?"  
  
"Yes sir." She said while doing her best not to show her dislike of the man.  
  
"All right then, you start on Thursday, and remember, don't be late!" he yelled two decimetres from her face, spit flying every which way.  
  
~*End of flashback*~  
  
Haruko had considered telling her big brother about the incident but decided that it wasn't worth the trouble. She didn't want to spend any more time looking for another job, this one would be fine. She looked out at the store, her job was to help customers find clothes that were of their size and then usher them to the till while complimenting them for making such a bargain. She sighed as she scratched at her neck, the shirt had been washed without any fabric softener, making it stiff and itchy. There hadn't been almost any customers that day; she guessed that it was because it was a weekday.   
  
All of the customers that had entered the store had been attended to by her co-worker, Sonoko, leaving her to stand at the till to rot. Sonoko was a middle-aged woman who used far too much make-up to be considered as someone who aged with dignity. She was very slim, bony even, but not the least bit frail. Whenever she flashed her horribly uneven teeth she would give you the impression that she'd bite your head off if you displeased her in any way. She also had a habit to snatch away the costumers from Haruko, who suspected that it was in order to get her fired since she couldn't get the chance to serve anyone.  
  
Haruko sighed yet again as she played with the tresses of her hair, failing to find anything amusing to do amongst the randomly scattered rows of clothes. She was about to bang her forehead onto the desk when Sonoko came rushing from the direction of the dressing rooms. She seemed upset and was frowning deeply, looking like she had just seen something deeply disturbing. Haruko wondered what was wrong as she waited for Sonoko to regain her senses. When Sonoko had calmed down she glared at Haruko.  
  
"You youngsters, I should have known better. Disgusting I tell you! You and them," here Sonoko nodded back towards the dressing rooms, "you are teenagers so you should be able to talk them out of the store. Now hurry up!"  
  
Haruko didn't understand what she was saying, but it soon became clear to her that she was expected to do; there were some troublesome youngsters that she had to somehow usher out of the store. She fumed with anger and annoyance, why her? Sonoko with her crooked teeth would be a lot more intimidating than her. Still, she was curious, maybe it was Sakuragi-kun or his friends, maybe both?  
  
With that thought in mind she hurried to look, but she didn't see any flaming red hair anywhere, what met her instead was spiked, gelled hair, blue sparkling eyes and a smile so bright it took the shine from any celebrity, be it a male or female.  
  
"Ah, Sendoh-san!" Haruko exclaimed in surprise. Sendoh's smile brightened even more if possible as he looked down at Haruko. "Why are you here? I mean, can I help you?" Haruko said as she blushed at her small mistake.  
  
"You are Akagi-captain's sister aren't you?" he leaned down to look at her name-tag, "Ah, Haruko-chan huh? I guess it's true that pretty girls have pretty names too!"  
  
Haruko's blush deepened, she didn't know what to say.  
  
'Sendoh-san truly is as hent- no, as _bold_ as everyone say!" she thought and corrected herself.  
  
She opened her mouth to stutter a reply, but was interrupted by a shoe that came flying out from one of the dressing rooms, hitting Sendoh square in the head. The shoe was followed by an upset voice.  
  
"I can't believe you! You drag me out of my house to go to this stupid store to shop some stupid clothes that I don't even need, just to flirt with the first random girl who happens to cross your path?? You hentai! Baka!" came the voice from the booth. Haruko looked uncertainly at Sendoh, but he just kept on smiling. He picked up the shoe and went to the booth from where it had been thrown.  
  
"Come now Hiro-chan, it's Akagi-captain's sister! You know, the gorilla!" he looked back at Haruko and smiled, "No offence, Haruko-chan," he turned back to the booth's door and attempted to push it open, "Come on Hiro-chan, do you really think that I'd want to get beaten up by him? Just forget about it and let me see those clothes that I picked out for you!"  
  
Haruko watched in amusement at the tug-o-war of the door. Hiroaki Koshino was yelling obscenities at Sendoh while preventing him from entering. Sendoh on the other hand was giving his all to push the door open and at the same time tried to sooth the hot-tempered shooting guard.  
  
"Forget it!" Koshino yelled, "There's no way I'm going out there looking like this! The shirt you gave me is at least three sizes too small!"  
  
"It's not a shirt, honey, it's a tank top, but that's not the point. The point is that it'll make your cute muscles stand out more!" Sendoh explained while leaning against the door to increase the force.  
  
"What?! Are you saying that my muscles aren't good enough, Akira Sendoh?"  
  
Haruko giggled a bit, she didn't feel left out, more like a spectator of some show. The situation that was played out before her eyes made her realize something.  
  
'Wait a minute… two boys on a shopping spree? And one of them is trying to break into the booth where the other is changing? And didn't Sendoh call Koshino-san "honey" a while ago?' Haruko gasped quietly, 'So THAT's why Sonoko-san was so upset! She is homophobic! Sendoh and Koshino are gay!'  
  
She looked up at the struggling boys again just in time to see Sendoh manage to barge his way into the cramped booth.  
  
"Baka! What do think you're doing? You're going to squeeze me to death!" Koshino raved at his overeager boyfriend. Sendoh just chuckled a bit.  
  
"That's why I told you to come out, come on, let's see how they fit you." Sendoh said in a giddy voice as he dragged his cursing boyfriend to a set of mirrors. Haruko gasped and blushed as she took in the sight that was Koshino Hiroaki. He wore loose-fitting dark blue jeans, a black tank top and a short-sleeved jeans jacket on top. The top was short enough to reveal some of his stomach, flaunting Koshino's hipbones. True to his word, the tank top did look a bit tight, but Sendoh's prediction had been right, Hiroaki looked gorgeous in the outfit. It wasn't even spoiled by his frown, in fact, it made him look like a Japanese gangsta'.  
  
Sendoh looked like he'd begin squealing at any moment, but he settled for glomping his boyfriend.  
  
"Oh, Hiro-chan, you look absolutely awesome!" he cried while hugging the shorter guy to his chest. Koshino blushed as he noticed that Haruko was looking at them and intensified his struggle to break away from Sendoh.  
  
"Let me down, you perverted idiot! We're not buying these, and even if you do, I wont wear them in public, do you hear me baka Sendoh?!" Koshino told him in a resolute voice. Sendoh pouted cutely at him, but his frown just deepened and finally Sendoh let him go. As Koshino stormed back to the dressing room to change into his regular clothes, Haruko looked a tad bit nervously at Sendoh as she approached them.  
  
"Uh, you were right you know, the clothes fit him really good." she said in an attempt to start a conversation. Sendoh grinned at her as if to say, 'of course I was right', "Sendoh-san, I hope that you wont take any offence, but, how long have you two been dating?"  
  
Sendoh blinked at her, his face taking on a look of genuine surprise.  
  
"You could tell?" he asked.  
  
Haruko sweatdropped quite a bit as she nodded at the taller boy. Sendoh didn't seem to notice as his smile was turned back onto its usual 60-watt smile.  
  
"Well you see, we haven't exactly told anyone yet, Hiro-chan is so shy," he winked at her, "Anyways, how do you like it here? With your work I mean?"  
  
"Oh, you know, it has its ups and downs." she smiled.  
  
At that moment Koshino came out from the dressing room wearing a white t-shirt and the black pants that came with their school uniform. He stomped up to Sendoh and thrusted the clothes at him, then he marched away to the store's exit. Sendoh's eyes followed his ass as it jiggled away amongst the rows of clothes. Then he turned back to Haruko.  
  
"Did they teach you how to use the till yet?" he asked. Haruko nodded in confusion. "Great! Then I'd like to have these then, Haruko-chan!"  
  
"But, I thought that Koshino said that he wasn't going to wear them?"  
  
"In public, Haruko-chan, he said that he wouldn't wear them in public." Sendoh corrected her and his smile turned into a grin that bordered at the line of what was considered acceptable in public.  
  
"All right then, follow me," she said as she took the clothes from Sendoh and led him back to the cashier's desk. Sonoko was there and she stared wide-eyed at the pile of clothes that Haruko was registering into the till. As she handed Sendoh his clothes in a bag she smiled her brightest smile at him and said her "Thank you for shopping at our store, please come again"-line, she glanced at Sonoko who was looking at the scene with poorly hidden disgust. Then, Sendoh did something unexpected; he leaned closer to Haruko and said:  
  
"No, thank YOU," and kissed her on her cheek.  
  
Haruko giggled as she blushed a bit and waved at Sendoh trough the store's display window. Her gaze landed on Sonoko once again, this time, Sonoko's eyes had widened considerably. She gaped as she pointed her bony ring-decorated finger at her.  
  
"H-he kissed you? B-but, wasn't he, I mean those two were… weren't they?" she stuttered.  
  
"They were what? I don't understand what you're talking about, Sonoko-san. Sendoh-san was just shopping clothes for his younger brother, you know how kids can be so difficult sometimes. He kiss-, no, he gave me a peck to show his appreciation of me calming down his brother."  
  
Sonoko-san was making a very good impression of an anglerfish as she was opening and closing her mouth so that her foul, yellowed teeth were showing.  
  
"What? Is there something the matter, Sonoko-san?"  
  
In an instant, Sonoko snapped her mouth shut and stormed off. Haruko giggled slightly but regained her composure as a costumer entered the store.  
  
"Good day sir, how may I help you?" she said with a charming smile.  
  
TBC?  
  
Author's Notes: I had originally planned to use Rukawa and Sakuragi, but I think that it'd be too OOC of Rukawa to do a tug-o-war at the middle of a store so I changed the pairing. Did you like it? I'm considering writing a sequel, with some hotter scenes too… drop me a line if you liked it! Oh! I almost forgot, thanks goes to Kelly, not only is she my fabulous muse, she's also my beta-reader! ^^  
  
See ya!  
  
// shake_it_buddy aka Otakugirl 


End file.
